Sunday, April 29, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 29 - May 5)

Another week flew by and we had a lot of great food!  We pretty much followed our meal plan except for Friday night.  We decided to go out to dinner instead of going to the play we had tickets for.  It was a better choice for our sanity.  We enjoyed tacos at Condado and ice cream at Ice Cream Rollery and came home full and happy!

This week is crazy busy again.  That's pretty much how it goes from now until the end of the school year.  We have tons of soccer games and practices, lots of Scout events, field trips, meetings, celebrations plus our normal load of work, school and social events.  May is jam packed, I honestly don't think we have a single free day.  I'm going to try my best to stick to my healthy eating but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't.  My goal for the summer will be moderation in both eating and exercising as I'm trying to find a balance between working and hanging out with the boys.

My mother in law volunteered at the food pantry last week and brought us some of the leftover produce.  We have a ton of corn on the cob, zucchini, apples, carrots and yellow squash.  So you will see a lot of that on the menu the next two weeks.  We also still have some cabbage and a butternut squash that I need to use.  I planned this week's meals around what I already have and what is easy since it's a busy week.  I don't have to go food shopping until much later in the week since we have everything I need for all of these meals.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Meatball Subs for the boys, Meatballs over zoodles for the adults
Monday - Thai Chicken Salad
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday!
Wednesday - Leftovers or Sandwiches (at the soccer field until late)
Thursday - Turkey Cabbage Stew (carry over from last week)
Friday - Panko Tilapia with Zucchini Chips
Saturday - Zucchini Enchiladas

Water Flavor - Orange Mint.  I acquired two oranges from school this week so I plan to use them in my water for the week.  And I got a great deal on mint so I'll be using it over the next few weeks as well.

Overnight Oats - I'm using my normal recipe to make a few batches for the week.  We have two days covered already this week so I don't need to make that many.  Since it was a busy weekend, I'm using the easy flavored yogurts to make the oats this week.  I'll be using key lime yogurt for two batches and one of the International Delight creamer yogurts for the other two batches.  I think that will be enough for the week but if I need one more batch, I will use the pina colada yogurt that I have.

Use it Up - Once again, I am trying to use up all of the veggies we have in the house.  I was pretty successful last week but then I got restocked because of what my mother in law dropped off.  We do need some fruit so I will pick up some of that this week, whatever is on sale.

Lunches - My lunches this week will be salads.  I didn't eat as many as I thought I would last week because I ended up home two days so I had leftovers (which are just about all gone).  I have a few open bottles of dressing that I want to use up this week over the remaining lettuce.  I will also have leftovers of the salad I make on Monday so that will be lunch some days too.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/20 - 4/26)

Friday (4/20) Another week in the books!  We accidentally overslept a little but thankfully still got up in time to get everyone to school and work on time.  Adrian drove AJ so we didn't have to be as stressed out about the time to catch the bus.  I was subbing all day so I took Daniel and Zak in to school a little early with me.  I had a great day of subbing, the class and I had a lot of fun together.  When the school day was done, we headed home to pick up AJ and then headed to Krispy Kreme to get our free donuts from our last report cards.  The boys each had one donut and then it was time to get Zak ready for his soccer practice.  Adrian took him to soccer while I got dinner ready.  We all enjoyed a pasta dinner and then did a little clean up before settling down for a family movie night.  We watched "Justice League" and everyone really enjoyed it!  It was late when the movie was over so we got the boys to bed after, watched one show and then headed to bed ourselves.  Fun family Friday night!
Saturday (4/21) Everyone slept in a little after being up late last night for movie night.  The boys had a relaxing start to their morning since they didn't need to be anywhere.  I got up and moving and headed to the Y to teach my Zumba class.  We had a great time dancing and chatting!  Then I headed home to get a few things done and hang out with AJ and Daniel while Adrian took Zak to his soccer game.  His team won big again and he had a great time!  After soccer we got a few things done then got ready to head to my brother's house for dinner.  The cousins had a great time playing together including lots of time outside while the adults enjoying eating, drinking adult beverages and chatting.  The only downside was that both the Blue Jackets & the Devils lost their playoff hockey games.  At least the Jackets have two more games to try to pull out wins and advance to the next round.  We stayed pretty late at their house and were all exhausted when we got home.  The boys went right to bed and Adrian and I barely made it thru one comedy before heading to bed for the night.
Sunday (4/22) Again we all slept in and were really dragging this morning.  We decided to blow off most of our day for a relaxing stay at home day.  We skipped church and swim lessons for everyone.  We worked around the house while the boys played board games and video games.  I also worked on my required Silver Sneakers training that I have to finish before April 30th.  AJ had a birthday party for his buddy David this afternoon so Adrian took him to that.  Adrian went and bought shoes while AJ was at Lazer Craze for the party.  AJ had so much fun playing on the trampolines, playing laser tag and eating pizza and cake.
 
While they were out, I hung out at home with Zak and Daniel and continued to work around the house.  Then I took them to Martial Arts in the evening.  They had so much fun and did a great job practicing all of their skills!  After we all got back home, we had dinner together and then finished up our to do lists to get ready for the busy week ahead.  The boys played some video games and Daniel uploaded his first video to his YouTube channel.  Then we did snack, show and bed for the boys and then for ourselves.  It was nice to have a lighter Sunday!

Monday (4/23) It was back to our regular weekly schedule today.  We got AJ out to the bus on time and then I got the other two boys ready for school.  After I dropped them off, I came home to pack up for the day because we would be out until after 7pm tonight.  Then I headed to the Y to teach my Silver Sneakers class.  As soon as class was over, I ran back to school to sub for the afternoon.  When school was over, I grabbed Daniel and Zak and we ran home to pick up AJ and head to the Y for my Zumba class.  We had a fun class dancing and sweating together!

After class, I got Daniel dressed for soccer and we headed to the field for his game.  We thought it was going to be cancelled since it had been raining for a few hours but they decided to keep the games on as scheduled.  It must be because there are already so many games to make up due to this weather!  Daniel did great playing in the rain, even though he hates getting wet in the rain.  Zak had a blast playing at the park & getting soaked from head to toe!  AJ played with Zak for a while and then Adrian picked him up so they could head to Hannah Park for AJ's Scout meeting.  They did a fitness test including running a mile together.  He had fun and got to play at the park a little after the meeting since the rain stopped.
When we all finally got home and into dry clothes, we had a little bit of time to relax and watch some TV before it was time for bed.  We got the kids down, got the kitchen cleaned up and then sat down to watch some TV before we headed to bed as well.  I was exhausted and thought it was from being outside at the soccer game.  But when I actually look back on the day, it was probably just because it was a super busy day!

Tuesday (4/24) We woke up to another rainy day but we were able to all get up and moving so everyone got to work and school on time.  After I got everyone to school, I headed to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  Then I ran errands all afternoon in an attempt to get them all done in one day.  I finished almost all of them and got home right after AJ got off the bus.  I'm so thankful he has a key and is OK to come home alone most days.  I unloaded the car and then headed up to pick up Daniel and Zak from school.

I got busy putting away groceries and cooking dinner as soon as we got back.  I made a double batch of baked ziti tonight, one for us and one for a friend who is recovering from surgery.  Daniel was supposed to have soccer practice but since it rained all day, it was cancelled.  So we had a much easier evening.  Zak had his rain gutter regatta for Cub Scouts tonight, so Adrian took him to that.  He had a great time racing his boat and then doing an obstacle course they had set up.  It was a fun night for him!  When they got home, we got the boys to bed and then finished up the cleaning and watched a few shows before heading to bed for the night.
Wednesday (4/25) Today did not go as planned when Daniel got up not feeling well - he had a fever and upset stomach and just general achy feeling.  I got AJ and Zak off to school and then cancelled my day, including finding a sub for my Zumba class this afternoon.  He spent the day on the couch resting and watching TV while I was super productive around the house, getting a ton of stuff done including my mandatory Silver Sneakers training that had to be finished by the end of this month.  The day passed quickly and soon the other boys got home from school.  Since I didn't have Zumba, we didn't have anything to do today so we got thru homework and dinner with very little effort and a lot of time for playing and watching TV.  Adrian went to his Bible study tonight so it was just the four of us all night.  While I hate that Daniel was sick, I enjoyed a day without anywhere to go and time to be super productive around the house.  Adrian got home in time to help with bed time and then we watched "Survivor" before heading to bed ourselves.  Not the day I had planned but we made the best of it!

Thursday (4/26) Today started much like yesterday with Daniel still not feeling well and staying home from school again.  I got a sub for one of my Silver Sneakers classes and then we had to cancel the other one.  I hate to do that but it was the best option for our family.  The day passed quickly again much like yesterday with me being super productive while Daniel rested and watched TV.  Soon AJ got home and I walked up to pick up Zak from school.  They had some free time since no one had homework (yay!!), then we all had to get ready for soccer practice tonight.  Daniel missed practice so he is 100% for tomorrow but he still had to come with us.  I dropped him and Zak off at Zak's practice where Adrian met us and took them home after.  Then I took AJ over to his practice and dropped him off before running to Giant Eagle to pick up a few things.  When we all got home, we finished cleaning up, the boys had a snack and a show and we got them to bed.  We watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 22 - April 28)

Last week went by in a blur and this week will be more of the same.  We are super busy right now with soccer, end of the year stuff and work.  Adrian is coming into his busy season and I have been trying to sub as much as I possibly can since I'll be off from subbing all summer.  I'll also be cutting back on my group fitness classes so we are hoping to build up a nice savings account before the end of May to get us thru the three months of summer.  We pretty much stuck to our meal plan last week with only one meal not getting made.  Friday night we were all exhausted and had soccer practice so I made pasta instead and bumped the frittata to this week.

We have something going on every night this week but I am trying really hard to continue eating healthy.  I am also focusing on what I already have in the house to keep our grocery bill down.  We have a bunch of broccoli, cabbage, zucchini and lettuce in the house so we'll be using those as a base for all of our meals this week.  We have a lot of fruit and veggies on the verge of turning so we'll be eating that as quickly as possible too.  I'm looking forward to summer weather and lower prices for fruits and veggies!

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Sausage & Pepper Frittata (with mushrooms instead of onions)
Monday - Leftovers (we have soccer & Scouts tonight)
Tuesday - Baked Ziti and Salad (I'm making 2 batches, one for us and one for a friend recovering from surgery)
Wednesday - Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry over Rice
Thursday - Sausage Zucchini & Spinach Pasta
Friday - Turkey Cabbage Stew
Saturday - Steak & Corn on the Cob on the grill (I'll be out all day so Adrian will be in charge of dinner)

Water Flavor - Cucumber Mint.  One of my favorites!

Overnight Oats - I'm using my normal recipe to make a few batches for the week.  I'll make two peanut butter with chocolate chips, two chocolate with butterscotch chips and two with the flavored yogurt from International Delight (French Vanilla).  We have two servings left over from last week so that should get us thru the week.

Use It Up - I'm using up all of the fruits and veggies we have this week as well as trying to use up our leftovers.  We have consistently overcooked and have a shelf full of leftovers.  I'm thankful for it but I don't want anything to go bad before we have a chance to eat it.

Lunches - We'll be having salads and leftovers all week.  I have some taco meat leftover from last week so I'll be using that in the salads as well.  I also still have a few hard boiled eggs from Easter that I'm hoping to finish up this week.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/13 - 4/19)

Friday (4/13) We made it to the last day of our first week of state testing!  It was a busy week but we survived.  We all got a great night of sleep last night and were up and out on time this morning.  I was subbing all day so I went in with Daniel and Zak a little before their school day starts.  I subbed in a great class all day and had some fun with them.  I am really enjoying subbing and think I'm hitting my stride with it.  I got to see both Daniel and Zak at our second recess, they were so excited to see me!  It was a little windy, but otherwise a gorgeous day!
 
After school, we came home and had a mostly relaxing evening.  The boys played outside and played some video games.  I got caught up on the dishes and laundry from the week and relaxed a lot.  Adrian worked on setting up the game room in the loft, played with the boys and relaxed as well.  The boys were all exhausted so we put them to bed at their normal time.  We finished up a few things then settled in to watch a few comedies before heading up to bed ourselves.  Not the most exciting Friday night but it was a pretty great one!

Saturday (4/14) This morning started early for Adrian and AJ because AJ had a very early soccer game.  His team won & he said he had so much fun!  Adrian came home and dropped him off and picked up Daniel to take him back to the fields for his game.  His team lost and Daniel was complaining about some bad calls by the refs.  Adrian seems to think those calls didn't decide the game.  Soon after they got home, it started pouring!  I'm glad both boys were able to get their games in before the rain started.  This weather has made for a rocky start to our spring soccer season.

While they were out at the games, I was home getting stuff done around here including finally filing our taxes for last year!  We've been so busy I have not been able to take the time to get them done so I set aside the whole day today to get them done.  When those were finished, I spent the rest of the day working around the house trying to catch up on all that I haven't had time for since we've been so busy.  The boys helped us clean, played video games and finished their homework for next week.  It was a fairly relaxing Saturday at home and we enjoyed it.  We got take out for dinner and when the boys went to bed, we watched a few comedies and had some wine. 
Sunday (4/15) We all slept in a little today and then started our always busy Sundays.  We were getting ready to head out to church but AJ got sick so we decided to skip it and see how he was feeling after some time.  He was perfectly fine so we're assuming it was something he ate.  I headed out to second service while Adrian got the boys ready for swim lessons.  I was at the church most of the day between service and working as the facility rep all afternoon.  It was nice and quiet and I was able to get a lot done while working.  The boys had fun at their swim lessons and also at Martial Arts.  I got home and made us meatball subs for dinner and we all enjoyed a nice relaxing family dinner.  After dinner Adrian and I finished up a few things around the house while the boys enjoyed playing in their new video game nook in our loft.  Before long it was time for snack, show and bed for the boys and then for us.  Ready to take on another busy week!

Monday (4/16) 30 school days left until summer!!  Everyone was up early today and ready to head to school.  It was easy for Zak to get dressed because he had pajama day to celebrate finishing testing!  We got everyone out on time to school and then I headed to the Y for Body Pump and then to teach Silver Sneakers.  When classes were done, I headed to Easton to meet my friend Jodi for lunch.  We both had coupons from our birthdays to use so we had wine and appetizers at both Coopers Hawk and Kona Grill.  We had a great time eating, drinking, chatting and laughing.  We decided we need to do this more often!
After lunch, I ran home to pick up all of the boys from school and then headed back to the Y to teach my Zumba class.  We had a sweaty fun time at class as always.  Then I ran home with the boys to have a quick dinner before we split up to head out to Scouts.  I took Zak to his Lions meeting and Adrian took AJ to Boy Scouts.  Zak finished up all of his requirements and officially advanced to a Tiger after tonight's meeting.  He also got to celebrate his friend Hudson's birthday with brownie sundaes.  We had a fun night!  When we all got home, we got everyone ready for bed since we have a few more days of testing ahead of us this week.
Tuesday (4/17) After the business of yesterday, we struggled to get up this morning but we did it.  We got everyone off to work and school on time and then I headed to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  We had a great workout and a lot of laughs as always.  When I finished with my classes, I ran a few errands and then came home and did a bunch of stuff around the house.  I'm working really hard to stay caught up this week because we have a super busy weekend.  Before I knew it, AJ was getting off the bus and I ran up to pick up the other boys.  Daniel was supposed to have soccer tonight but since it's still snowing and freezing here, his coach cancelled.  We enjoyed our night off with a family dinner, video games and the Blue Jackets playoff game.  We got the boys down to bed on time, we have one more day of testing tomorrow and then all three boys are done for this school year.  I tried to stay up until the end of the hockey game, but I got too tired to stay up.  It went to double overtime and unfortunately the Jackets lost.  Hoping for a better outcome Thursday!

Wednesday (4/18) We all got up and out on time again today.  After I dropped everyone off to school, I ran a few errands and then headed to Harcum to sub a class there.  It was different than my usual class, but we all had fun.  Then I came home and did a few things around the house and had lunch before heading into the school to sub for the art teacher all afternoon.  When school was over, we came home and picked up AJ and headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  After a fun class, I got Daniel changed, ate dinner in the car and headed to the soccer field for his game.  Unfortunately his team lost again by 1 goal, but they looked pretty good.  We all came home and finished up homework and then the boys played while Adrian and I cleaned up.  We got them to bed early because Daniel still has testing tomorrow since the entire site went down today.  After getting them to bed, we watched Survivor and Roseanne and then headed to bed.  I loved how they dealt with David and Darlene, perfect resolution!  And before I went to bed, I had to play tooth fairy for Daniel who lost a tooth during breakfast this morning.
Thursday (4/19) Everyone was up super early today, way before most of them needed to be.  We got AJ on the bus and then everyone else got ready.  I dropped the other boys off at school and headed to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  We were all a little bummed that it is still snowing here but we're hoping spring is coming soon!  After class I got changed quickly and headed in to sub for the afternoon.  The class was rough, but it's been a rough week for them with testing and lots of schedule changes.  After school I picked up Daniel and Zak and we headed home.  All three boys were supposed to have soccer but due to poor field conditions, Zak's was cancelled.  It made our night a little easier since we only had 2 practices.  Adrian took AJ and Daniel to practice while I stayed home with Zak to finish his homework and get the house cleaned up a bit.  When everyone got home from soccer, we were all exhausted so we got the boys down to bed, watched a few comedies and headed to bed for the night.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 4/6 - 4/12)

Friday (4/6) We reached another Friday and boy are we feeling the effects of being off and then having to get back to our schedule!  We were dragging but everyone made it to work and school on time.  We did get an extra half hour of sleep today because Adrian drove AJ to school since he had a project due today.  I was subbing in the other boys' school so we all went in together a little early.  I had a great day subbing in two different classes!  After school we all came home and relaxed a little before having dinner and then family movie night.  It was Zak's pick and he had found our movie last week at the library - Cars 3.  We all really enjoyed the movie, way better than Cars 2!  After the movie, we got the boys to bed, finished cleaning up a little and then watched a few comedies before heading to bed ourselves.
Saturday (4/7) As I mentioned last week, all of the boys soccer games were cancelled for today since the weather has been horrible and the fields are a muddy mess!  So the guys had a much easier Saturday than they were planning on.  They spent the day playing, working around the house and relaxing.  I had a busy day of dancing!  I started off at the Y teaching an awesome class to the super fun Saturday morning crowd.  Then after a brief stop home to eat and change clothes, I headed across town to another Zumba jam session.  I had a fun afternoon dancing with friends and learning 4 new Salsas.  Excited to bring them to my classes!
 
When I got home, I was pretty tired and very happy that the weather held out for Adrian to grill steaks for us for dinner.  After enjoying a delicious dinner, we finished up a few things around the house then settled in for another movie night.  Tonight we watched Jumanji with one of my free birthday rentals from Redbox.  Again, we all loved it!  It was funny, entertaining, had great actors, just enough action to keep everyone interested and a happy ending.  All of the things we like in our movies.  After the movie, we got the boys to bed and watched one show from our DVR.  I was so tired that I headed to bed while Adrian stayed up to hang out for a little while.  It was a pretty great Saturday!

Sunday (4/8) We all slept in a little bit and then got ready for a busy Sunday.  We all got ready and went to first service for church today.  It was fun to worship together and Daniel has a new friend from school in his Sunday school class so he was super excited about that.  After church we went home and had lunch and the split up for a while.  Adrian took Zak and AJ to the Y for their swim lessons while Daniel and I stayed home so I could get a few things done around the house.  Then we met them there so Adrian could take AJ to soccer practice while I stayed at the Y for Daniel's lessons.  We all met back at home to do a quick change and then Adrian took all 3 boys to Martial Arts.  When they finally got home, we had a quick dinner of leftovers and then finished up what we could around the house.  We got the boys to bed early since they all have standardized testing all week at school so their homework is to get good rest!  We finished the night with some comedies and an early bed time for us as well.

Monday (4/9) Back to our routine and it's a full week for us!  We did start our count down to summer yesterday, only 35 more school days to go.  Everyone got up and out on time today except for Adrian who was not feeling well at all.  He decided to sleep in and stay home from work for the day.  I got everyone to school and then headed to the Y for Body Pump.  I got there and quickly realized that I forgot my jacket...and it was snowing.  I still headed in and did the new Body Pump and taught my Silver Sneakers class then headed home to grab a quick lunch and my jacket!
After lunch, I ran a few errands since I had a lot to get done this week and not a lot of free time.  I got back just in time to pick up the boys from school, drop them off at home with Adrian and head out to the Y for my Zumba class.  After a great class, I ran home to eat a quick dinner and then it was Scout night for all of us.  Adrian took AJ to his Boy Scout meeting and I took Zak to his Cub Scout meeting.  Daniel came with me and Zak and was glad he did because he got a twizzler to practice tying knots with like all of the other boys.  Zak and his den also learned how to fold a flag and how to take care of the flag.  When all of the meetings were done, we headed home and got ready for bed.  We got the boys to bed, finished up the dinner clean up, watched a few shows and headed to bed.  Thankfully Adrian is feeling better and will be back to work tomorrow!
Tuesday (4/10) We all got up and out on time again today.  Today started state testing for AJ for the next 6 school days so we are trying to make sure he gets as much rest as possible.  After I got everyone to school, I headed to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  After the classes I headed into school to sub for the afternoon.  When school was over, I took Daniel and Zak home and we quickly got ready for their soccer practices.  After lots of cancellations, it looks like we might finally be on track to kick off this season.  They both had practice at the same time so I took them all to Zak's field, then Adrian met us there and took Daniel to his practice.  When everyone was done, we came home and had dinner and then relaxed a little before it was time to get ready for bed.  We put the boys to bed, watched some TV and then headed to bed.  It already feels like a long week!!

Wednesday (4/11) We all got up and out of the house on time again.  It is a super busy day and I had to pack us up for the whole day this morning, we'll be gone from about 8:45am until after 7pm.  I packed everything up that I thought we might need and headed out to sub a Zumba class and a barre class for a friend who is on the Zumba cruise.  After the classes, I ran to the school to sub in the afternoon and had a great afternoon with a class I struggled with last time.

When school was over, we picked up AJ and headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  It was a sweaty fun time!  Then I got Zak changed, we ate dinner in the car and we headed over to the soccer field for Zak's first soccer game.  The kids had a blast playing & his team won!  Zak enjoyed playing in the mud the most.  We finally headed home after that, exhausted!  We relaxed for a little bit then got the boys ready for bed.  When they were asleep, we watched Survivor and then headed to bed ourselves.  Longest Wednesday ever!
Thursday (4/12) We were all pretty wiped out from yesterday, but we still managed to get up and out to school on time today.  After I dropped everyone off I headed to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes and then run some errands that I needed to finish up.  I ran around until it was time to pick the boys up from school.  I got AJ off the bus and walked up to pick up the other two boys since it was pretty nice, if a little windy.  We came home to realize our play set had broke in the wind.  The canvas that covers the "tree house" ripped in half.  We need to figure out how to get it replaced now.
After we all got home, we relaxed a little and then got ready to have dinner and head out to soccer practice.  All three boys had practice tonight.  I took everyone and dropped Zak off at his field for practice and then headed over to the other field to drop off AJ and Daniel.  I quickly ran to Costco while they were all practicing.  Adrian went to pick up Zak on his way home from work and when I was done shopping I picked up the other boys.  We all eventually got home and were exhausted.  Adrian and I got the groceries unloaded and mostly put away, got the boys to bed and then largely ignored the mess in the house.  We watched one show and then headed to bed.  One more day until the weekend!

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 3/30 - 4/5)

Friday (3/30) Another great night of sleep and a morning that we all slept in!  Adrian has today off so we are ready to enjoy a three day weekend with very little on the schedule.  We thought about going to the zoo today, but the weather didn't look great so we decided to stay home and have a family day.  We relaxed, played board games, played video games and did some work around the house.  In the afternoon we took a field trip to use up another one of my birthday freebies.  We went to a new to us place, Culver's, for ice cream.  We actually had coupons for all of us to get free scoops, yay for free ice cream!!  We all really enjoyed it and decided this would not be our last time eating here.
After our afternoon treat, Daniel and Zak decided they wanted to go to Target to spend some of the allowance so Adrian took them there while I stayed home with AJ.  Then we spent the rest of the afternoon much like the morning.  We had an easy dinner, finished clean up and popped up a bunch of popcorn for family movie night!  It was Daniel's pick and he wanted to watch an Avengers movie so we watched "Captain America: Civil War."  It was awesome, we all loved it!  Well, the four of us who watched it loved it, Zak chose to play video games instead.  The boys are super excited to watch more Avengers movies soon, especially Spiderman.  After we got them to bed, we opened some wine and watched some comedies.

Saturday (3/31) Another great night of sleep and everyone sleeping in this morning!  We got a lazy start to our day with some donuts, coffee and TV.  We were thinking about going to a local egg hunt but the boys decided they didn't want to go (and I'm glad we didn't, I heard they didn't have many eggs and tons of kids!)  Adrian and I started working on our chores around the house while the boys played for most of the morning.  In the afternoon, AJ had a Scout event so Adrian took him to that.  They enjoyed seeing the Eagle Scout ceremony and AJ is motivated to try to achieve it as well.

After they got back home, we got a bunch of stuff done around the house and then stopped around dinner time for some Easter prep.  We colored two dozen eggs for the bunny to hide tomorrow.  We used a volcano egg kit that I found this year.  It didn't really work like it was supposed to, but it made the eggs looks awesome.  And we also used a normal egg die kit, which the boys just mixed all the colors up and I tried not to freak out about it.  They had a great time doing it this year!  After we cleaned that up, they got ready for movie night & I headed to Sonic to get my free birthday shake & half price shakes for everyone else.
 
When I got home with the shakes, we watched "Hop."  It was OK, kinda boring.  The boys thought it was pretty funny though.  Zak lost interest about halfway thru and then watched the last 20 minutes again.  When the movie was over, we got the boys to bed and did a few things around the house until we were sure they were asleep.  Then we hid our eggs, wrapped our presents and set everything up for the morning.  In between all of that we did watch the second halves of the basketball games and are happy to see Michigan and Villanova in the finals on Monday night.  We watched a few comedies over a glass of wine then headed to bed anticipating an early wake up.
Sunday (4/1) Happy Easter!!  As predicted, the boys had us up pretty early this morning to hunt for eggs.  They were super excited and were running all over the house looking for them.  It was really fun and cute!  They also loved opening up all of their presents and eating candy for breakfast.  They each got a new towel, crocs and a pool noodle for Easter.  We had a slow start after all of that fun before heading out to second service of church together as a family.  It was a packed house and we loved every minute of worshiping and learning with our church family!  After that service, Adrian took the boys home & I volunteered in childcare for the third service.  I had so much fun singing and dancing with the kids!!
After church we had a very relaxing day at home.  We played games, watched video games, ate more candy and got the rest of our things around the house done and ready for a busy week.  We enjoyed a later dinner of ham, string beans & salad and ice cream cake for dessert.  After dinner the boys played a few more video games while Adrian and I tried to get control of the kitchen.  We tried to head back towards a normal bed time since we only have one more day of spring break.  After the boys were in bed, Adrian and I watched some TV and headed to bed too.  It's back to work for both of us tomorrow as well as Scouts for AJ.

Monday (4/2) Today felt like April Fool's Day when I woke up to snow on the ground and all three boys sleeping in!  We finally got up and moving and headed to the Y for my Silver Sneakers class this morning.  Then we ran home after class to have a quick lunch and wait for all of our friends to arrive to play.  The boys wanted to have four friends over today and I said OK.  I thought I was crazy but they actually all played really well together and I did very little other than just being in the house with them.  They all had a great time and my boys said it was the best day of spring break!
After everyone left, we did a few last minute things to get ready for school tomorrow and then got ready for the evening.  We had an early dinner before I headed to the church to work for a few hours and Adrian took AJ to soccer practice since Scouts was cancelled tonight.  The other boys went to soccer as well and played at the park while AJ practiced.  They all did really well being outside that long considering it was pretty cold.  After we all got home, we cleaned up from our play date then watched the new "Peppa Pig" that premiered this morning!  All three boys thought it was hilarious, and Adrian and I loved that they finally addressed the fact that Rebecca Rabbit does everything.  After that, we got the boys to bed and Adrian watched the basketball championship while I did a few things and headed to bed early.

Tuesday (4/3) We were back to our school routine today!  We have 8 weeks left of school this year until summer break.  Everyone is trying for perfect attendance this quarter and I'm hoping the weeks go smoothly.  Everyone was actually early getting ready this morning and we were all on time to school.  After I dropped everyone off, I headed to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  I had two great classes and we had a lot of fun!  Then I braved the horrible weather to head in to school to sub for the afternoon.  We were supposed to have soccer tonight but since there were horrible storms, including tornado warnings, all of the practices were cancelled.  We had a relaxing night at home doing homework, playing and watching TV.  And then it was an early bed time for everyone since we were all tired from getting back to our routines.

Wednesday (4/4) We all got a great night of sleep and were ready for another full day.  I got everyone up and out to school and then I headed to the Y to get back to being a student in Body Pump.  It felt good to be back, even if I was a little sore after it!  Then I ran a few errands, changed quickly and headed in to sub for the afternoon.  When school was over, we ran home and picked up AJ and headed to the Y for my Zumba class.  We had a fun class and then the boys and I headed home for the night.  Adrian had small group so we were on our own for dinner and homework time.  Since the boys did great with that, I rewarded them (and me!) with some video game time before our normal night routine.  Adrian got home in time to help with bedtime.  Then we did the final clean up, watched Survivor and headed to bed.

Thursday (4/5) We hit the wall a little today and everyone was tired, but we still were able to get up and out on time to school.  After I got everyone dropped off, I headed to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  When class was over, I ran a bunch of errands that I didn't have time to run last week since I had the boys home all week.  I got home just in time to pick everyone up from school.  Daniel was super excited to share with us that he had his awards assembly and again earned straight A's!  He has gotten all A's for the first three quarters and will be working very hard to keep his streak for the fourth quarter.
Our night was supposed to be super busy but since the weather has been awful, all of the soccer practices were cancelled tonight.  Actually all soccer activities have been cancelled until Sunday which means no games for anyone this weekend.  While we are anxious to get out on the soccer fields, we are also happy for the extra down time.  We had a nice dinner together and finished all of our homework before I headed out to my monthly Cub Scout meeting.  It was long but productive.  I got home in time to help with bedtime and the final clean up around the house.  Then we settled in to watch a few comedies and headed to bed since we were worn out from getting back to our regular schedule! 

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 15 - April 21)

Last week was super busy with lots of subbing for me and lots of soccer for the boys.  We were all over the place all week.  We did pretty good keeping up with our meal plan until Thursday night when I hit the wall.  Thankfully we had a bunch of leftovers so we just had those for dinner that night.  I'm also behind on all things today so I will not be cooking dinner tonight and we'll either have something simple from around the house (leftovers, pasta, sandwiches, etc) or we'll run out and pick something up.  We'll see how the day plays out.

I have a few carryovers from last week to this week because I didn't make them.  However I did decide to make this Chicken Parm Casserole last week to use up some already cooked chicken.  We had it over spaghetti squash cooked in the instant pot and it was delicious!  This week I am trying to not have to go to the grocery store at all.  I did big stock up trips last week so we have a lot of food in the house.  I'm hoping we have enough fruits and veggies to make it through the week.  If not, I'll run to the store late in the week to restock.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Meatball Subs for the boys, Meatballs and Zoodles for the adults
Monday - Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Tuesday - Caprese Quiche
Wednesday - Leftovers because we have soccer after school and work
Thursday - Taco Thursday!
Friday - Sausage & Pepper Frittata (with mushrooms instead of onions)
Saturday - We're having dinner with my brother and family.  Not sure if we'll be here or there so I'll figure out dinner later in the week if I have to.  If dinner doesn't happen, we'll just have pasta or grill something.

Water Flavor - Pear.  I have a few that I need to use up so I'll be setting that up tomorrow.

Overnight Oats - I just recently discovered International Delights new yogurts.  I got one for free and used it last week to make Carmel Macchiato oats and they are amazing!  So this week I found them onsale and I'm using my normal recipe with these in place of the Greek yogurt.  We'll have Butter Pecan and Cinnabon this week.  I'm so excited!!

Use It Up - This week is all use it up.  I'm hoping not to shop at all this week.  I'll be using up all of my fruits and veggies for sure.  And I'm hoping to use up a few things in the freezers as well.

Lunches - I'll continue to use up the protein Ranch dressing I made to have salads.  I may also eat some leftovers this week as we really do have a lot.  

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for April 8 - April 14)

Last week we got back to our routine around here.  Everyone went back to school and back to eating a little better.  We did pretty well sticking to our meal plan last week, except that I bumped up these delicious pork chop sandwiches from today to last Wednesday.  We needed something quick and easy that night and these fit the bill.  We were going to have the fish tacos tonight, but today went very left of where we expected to be so we had leftovers instead.

We have a touch of the stomach bug around here, both Zak and Adrian are dealing with it today.  I'm hoping everyone is well by tomorrow morning and we'll be back to our regular schedule for the week.  But if not, the tacos may get pushed again since I don't want to make them if Adrian can't eat them.  Fish is the one thing neither of us like to eat leftover.  I try very hard not to have leftovers when we have it.

This is a very busy week because soccer has started up but with the bad weather out here we've had a rough start.  Zak will have an extra practice this week as well as a game during the week if our current schedule holds.  And Adrian and AJ are heading out to their first Boy Scout camp out this weekend.  Again that is the plan for now, although it could change.  I'm planning to cook both Friday and Saturday night as if Adrian will be here.  And if he's not, I may bump what I have planned for pasta with the boys.  If I do cook what I have planned, we'll have a lot of leftovers to start next week and that is OK too.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - leftovers
Monday - Fish Tacos (carry over from last week)
Tuesday - Caprese Quiche
Wednesday - Beef Mushroom Barley Soup
Thursday - Cauliflower Ham Au Gratin with Roasted Asparagus
Friday - Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Saturday - Sausage & Pepper Frittata (with mushrooms instead of onions)

Water Flavor - Cucumber.  I had one that needed to be used up.  I wish I had mint, that's such a great combination!

Overnight Oats - I am actually out of Greek yogurt so I'm using my normal recipe but using flavored Greek yogurt instead of plain.  I got a caramel macchiato one that I can't wait to try!  I also have black cherry and blueberry lavender.

Use it Up - I'm continuing to use up all of the veggies that I have in the fridges.  I've been pretty successful so far.  I'm down to tomatoes, mushrooms, asparagus and Brussels sprouts.  I'm also using up some cooked chicken and the rest of the Easter ham.  I also have some cabbage to use up, so I'll use some this week and then that will be a focal point next week.

Lunches - I made a large batch of protein Ranch dressing that I will be using in salads all week.  I'm still trying to use up the hard boiled eggs from Easter as well.  And avocados have been on sale so I'm excited to be using them in each salad too!

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Keeping Up With...2018 Goals (March Recap & April Goals)

March was a pretty great month around here, although I did slack on some of my goals for the year.  My parents were here for a long weekend which was awesome.  We had three long days of family time, which also included a lot of eating, drinking and not a lot of exercising.  We also celebrated my birthday and Easter (although that was technically April 1st).  It was a great month of family time and even though I missed a few goals, I wouldn't change it at all.  Same as I did in February, I will talk a little about how I did with each of the 10 goals this month and then talk about my plans for April to stay on track.

1. Lose 50 pounds (Lost 10 pounds this year, Grade for March: D)
  • Meal plan each Sunday - I did do this all 4 weeks, but I didn't do a great job of sticking to my plan, especially the healthy options that I had on there.
  • Count calories for at least 21 days (taking off 10 days for birthday celebrations) - I only counted for about 12 days.  I took off way more than 10 days.  It wasn't pretty
  • Go to at least one class per week that I am not teaching - I taught a Zumba Toning class and went to Body Pump once.  Not great, but at least that's half of what my goal was.
  • Lose 4 pounds - I didn't lose any weight this month.  In fact, I may have actually gained weight.  I haven't weighed in the past two Wednesdays, I just don't want to know how bad it is.  I will weigh in this Weds to get a baseline for April.
2. Read 20 books again (Read 4 books this year, Grade for March: A-)
  • Finish 2 books - I finished one book "Heart of the Matter" and am almost done "Fudge-a-Mania"
  • Make progress on "Americanah" (read at least 10%) - Done.  I actually read 16% this month and I am 70% done this book.
3. Watch 25 movies (Watched 9 movies this year, Grade for March: A+)
  • Watch 4 movies - Done!  We watched "Aladdin," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Captain America: Civil War," and "Hop"
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian (3 dates this year, Grade for March: A+)
  • Go see "An American in Paris" - Done!  This was a different play than we are used to, lots of dancing, not a lot of singing.  We didn't love it, but it was fun.  We are super excited we were able to renew our tickets for next year this month as well!
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans (Grade for March: C)
  • Sub at least twice each week - I subbed 9.5 days this month which is pretty good considering one week was spring break and I took one week off between my parents being here and just needing to catch up on a bunch of stuff around the house.
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week - Adrian got about 8 hours this month which is just short of what we wanted.  He didn't work any over time the last week of the month because they gave him Good Friday off and we always love a 3 day weekend together!
  • Spend as little as possible - We did decide against a second date in favor of saving money, however we spent a little more for my birthday than expected.  We went out to eat a few times and got a lot of little snacks too.  Although we did use a lot of freebies so that's good.
  • File our taxes and use some of our refund towards a credit card - I finally got Turbo Tax installed and transferred our personal data from last year.  I'm under the gun to finish in the next two weeks!
6. Finish my CEUs for my YMCA certification (Grade for March: A+)
  • Attend one Zumba jam session - Done!  It was another great session!
  • Upload all of the CEUs for the jams I have attended - Done!!  I have officially uploaded everything that I needed and am recertified for the next two years.  WOOT!!  Now on to the Silver Sneaker requirements...
7. Clean out the house (Grade for March: A)
  • Spend 20 minutes each weekend going thru our loft - We did this four of the five weekends, taking one off while my parents were here.  We got rid of a lot of stuff and are making progress on turning this area into a game room.  Hopefully next month we'll be done.
8. Keep up an active blog (Grade for March: A+)
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday - 4 posts done!
  • Week in review posts every Friday - 5 posts done!
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month - Doing it now.  And this is the earliest I've done this recap all year.
9. Play more board game (Grade for March: A)
  • Have one family board game night - Again, we didn't have an official game night this month, but we played some games.  Adrian played some with the boys and I played a few as well.
10. Improve my classes (Grade for March: A+)
  • Attend one Zumba jam session - Done!!
  • Figure out alternating Tues/Thurs workouts - Done!!
Here's what I'll be doing in April to continue to work towards these goals:
1. Lose 50 pounds
  • Meal plan each Sunday
  • Count calories for 28 days starting 4/3
  • Go to at least one class per week that I am not teaching
  • Lose 6 pounds
2. Read 20 books again
  • Finish 2 books - "Fudge-a-Mania" & "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory"
  • Make progress on "Americanah" (read at least 5%)
3. Watch 25 movies
  • Watch 4 movies
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian
  • Go see "The King and I"
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans
  • Sub at least twice each week
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week
  • Spend as little as possible
  • File our taxes and use some of our refund towards a credit card
6. Finish my CEUs for my YMCA certification new requirements for Silver Sneakers
  • Do the new foundations training for free this month
  • Complete the new fraud, waste, alert training
7. Clean out the house
  • Spend 20 minutes each weekend going thru our loft
8. Keep up an active blog
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday
  • Week in review posts every Friday
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month
9. Play more board game
  • Have one family board game night
10. Improve my classes
  • Attend one Zumba jam session
  • Finish my foundations training for Silver Sneakers